At Fruit & Wine Real Estate we have been telling the story since 2004.

In 2003 I was looking for property in Palisade and my Realtor had a listing in the Palisade area. I never thought about selling Real Estate but I needed a job. As often happens when Realtors and clients drive around for days looking at property, she and I got to talking. She told me about the Mesa Land Trust and their work to conserve farm ground. She talked about Palisade’s “prime and unique” agricultural ground.

She said she wanted to open an office in Palisade. I knew how to open a business and she knew Real Estate. She taught me Real Estate and I helped her realize her dream.

I bought Fruit & Wine Real Estate from her in 2007. 80% of my selling activity is right here in Palisade.

Since 2006 Fruit & Wine Real Estate has been #1 either in a number of units sold or volume sold, and we consistently have the #1 and 2 in agent ranking for the Palisade area. That says something when you consider F&W is 2 to 3 agents at any given time. The big boys are 50 to 60. We focus here and it shows, in our work and in our name.

I have a choice any given day; move my license to Grand Junction or stay in Palisade and be small, local, and focused. I choose Palisade every day.

This post continues the lessons of a Professional Realtor now in the position of being a seller. It is a position every Realtor needs to experience to add their toolbox. The lesson of the moment? The pause once the decision is made. I know it takes the seller’s about a year from the time they start thinking about selling until the home goes on the market. Logically, I know this. But in reality, it is a gut-wrenching thing.

We both know we are selling, we are moving toward getting ready. I rented the storage unit, and we have passed down the family treasures (more about family treasures later). We hired a professional cleaner to help with light fixtures and baseboards. We are working on the little chores one puts off for another time. But, I find we are on the great pause.

We love this house. It is the pinnacle of a life of dreams. Tom was an older man of 23 years when we met, I was a woman of the world at 20. He introduced me to John Prine, I introduced him to stability. He and I listened to our favorite John Prine song on a record player sitting on cinder blocks while playing spades on a card table in our rented trailer house. We laughed a lot and drank Squirt and Vodka. We sang along with “blow up your tv, move to the country, eat a lot of peaches”. Our family has fulfilled that dream and have indeed consumed copious amounts of peaches. I see now I totally missed the song title “Spanish Pipedream”.

This morning I watched the Purple Robe tree we planted sway in the breeze from a window we replaced.

Because I am a professional Realtor, I must disclose there is no sign on our home at the seller’s request (my husband), the price decided upon is $449000, and I will work with coop agents. Feel free to call me if you have someone looking for 4 bed 3 baths 3 acres Spanish Pipedream.

I also took pictures and will start the documents today with the plan to be ready soon, real soon. But we are in a bittersweet pause for now.

80% of the peaches and grapes grown in Colorado are grown in Palisade. How about that the Palisade Historical Society has oral histories of some of the early fruit growing pioneers. Many farming tools used in everyday fruit production were invented right here in Palisade.

Peach Fest is not just a peach Celebration. It is a week-end of educational events, and tours, free ice cream, dancing, parades, fine dining opportunities, and pancakes. Fruit & Wine Real Estate will be right there, hands on, doing what we do best, loving our end of the valley.

This ground has the best water rights in the valley and is prime and unique agricultural ground. This ground is locally owned by local farmers and their families. Here is a quote from Bob Bleiberg of the Mesa County Land Trust.

“When coming home from out East, as you round the corner on I-70, and see the orchards and vineyards of Palisade, it tells me I am home.” All I can add is, amen.

Owning a small Real Estate firm is challenging. We fight the larger is better battle. I usually put my head down and do the work, and sometimes I wonder if I am kidding myself. That is until recently.

I attended the National Association of Realtors Managing Broker’s conference held in Denver. It was something to see. What is new in Real Estate Brokerage on the National Stage. I had many take away’s from the speakers; Adam Savage from Myth Busters, and Mary Lou Retton, Olympic Gold Medal Winner. Here are a few:

Bypass the limits of your material

We all suffer from fear of failure

The end result is never what we set out to do. Be awake to what is good but may not be what you thought you wanted.

I know my opinion and don’t care about that. I would love to know yours.

TAKE THE RISK

Enthusiasm kills doubt

Be able to perform outside your comfort zone

Preparation makes you ready

We heard from industry leaders from Realtor.com, Boom Town, General Counsel for the National Association of Realtors, and several Owner/Brokers with associate brokers/agents numbering 30000 to 1. There was a lot of information. I found these gems to bring home to my small brokerage of 4 agents here in Peach Town central, Palisade Colorado.

The tide is turning. While large Corporate office models (Remax, Coldwell, KW…..) are going well, small boutique brokerages just like Fruit & Wine Real Estate are coming on strong. Why?

With us it is personal.

We are small enough to be flexible with the market

Our Realtors know the area better than anyone

It is all about our local culture and we are enthusiastic about it

When the market changes, we can change quickly

With the changing climate in business from water bottles to Real Estate, it is wonderful to learn you are doing things right. Fruit & Wine Real Estate is in the right place at the right time. Anything the big offices can do, we can do with a little more flair.

When I bought my first home, my realtor was the key to available properties. Her book and I mean an actual book, was issued every month and it held “the information”. No acceptations. The Realtor picked several homes and you went to see what the Realtor picked. You got copies once you have narrowed it down to a couple. No Realtor gave you the book, ever.

Today, even in the little town of Palisade Colorado, you can get apps that support apps that supply information about homes for sale, homes that might be for sale, homes that are foreclosed, homes that may foreclose, you will see every listing from every office, and you will see listings that are not even for sale! The Real Estate community works hard to keep the most recent information supplied to our local MLS. This information is then funneled out to millions of third-party sites, which is how home purchasing is done today. Understand there are thousands of local Realtors feeding these sites the information, for free. These sites then sell the local agents their listing back if the agent wants to let the buyer know who to call. Without local agents, the syndicated companies would not exist.

While these third-party sites are standard practice now, and the best way to get a property in front of the most qualified buyers, understand there are some drawbacks.

The information may be inaccurate. The third party site pulls information from everywhere, and they may miss important changes like the property sold last year.

At the end of the day, the local Realtor is the one that knows the area. Third party sites have no idea about local home pricing. So much that goes into pricing has to do with touring the home in person, seeing the neighborhood up close, talking with the locals.

The marketing engine that promotes these sites makes it appear they are a large Real Estate office with every agent working for them. Not so.

There is no replacement for the peace of mind, the local knowledge, and the expertise of a local Real Estate Agent.

http://fruitandwine.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Logo1-Trans.png00Tammy Craighttp://fruitandwine.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Logo1-Trans.pngTammy Craig2016-05-20 21:15:052018-01-24 19:09:38Zillow? Or not to Zillow?

Each area demographic is different. Palisade, Colorado is no exception. What is a CMA exactly? Real Estate professionals pull together a report with active listings, under contract listings, and sold listings, usually based over the course of 6 months. In the Palisade area it may be required to go back 1 year to get enough data to provide value information for your property. It is easy to get an idea of value in a subdivision, but once the subject property steps in the world of “unique” property it requires a strong sense of the local market.
Getting a market analysis from a local Real Estate professionals allows you to interview different agents as well so once you are ready to list you already have your realtor in mind. The trick to any CMA is the Real Estate professional’s knowledge of the area.
Understand these “comps” will have realtor fees built into the price. The following information is directly from the National Association of realtors “89 percent of sellers sold with the assistance of a real estate agent, up slightly from 88 percent the last three years, and only 8 percent (down from 9 percent) were FSBO sales”.
Remember, when your Realtor gives you a CMA report the numbers have realtor fees built into the price. Try to resist the urge to price your home at CMA price + Realtor fees. And remember, consider your time frame when pricing. Do you want your property to sit? Or, do you want it to sell? Less time on the market means fewer monthly bills on the property which means more money for you.

http://fruitandwine.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Logo1-Trans.png00Tammy Craighttp://fruitandwine.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Logo1-Trans.pngTammy Craig2016-02-10 17:54:232018-01-24 19:10:24Fruit and Wine Country and the Market Anaylsis

Admit it, this thought runs through your mind sometimes. “What do Realtors do?” I was one of them before entering the real estate profession. Like most jobs it is eye opening once you actually do the job. The Realtor pay supports the Realtor, but also the many businesses that support the real estate industry.

There is a huge job market behind the check paid to a real estate company for a percentage of the purchase price. Your commission cost pay to employee real estate office staff, pay rent and/or office mortgage, and photographers. We support office equipment businesses, newspapers, marketing people, print magizines for real estate, realtor boards and regulatory agencies, non-profit organizations, web site providers, sign people, car dealships and sales people, insurance providers, gas stations, fast food, fine dining, and taxes. All these support businesses get paid before your realtor gets their take home pay.

Each real estate company sets their own fee structure. There is not a set rate. I can charge by the hour, by the deal, or by a commission percentage. I can charge $75 per hour, or 1% or 100% of the purchase price. The market dictactes the pay rate, just like the price you pay for a jug of milk or a gallon of gas.

For talking purpose let’s say a commission check of $10,000 is paid to the listing office from the proceeds of your home for brokerage services.

$10,000 paid to the listing office

30% approx off the top for listing office support (This rates is a little different in each office but no matter how you slice it the average is about 30%) =$7000 paid to the sub-contractor agent for services to the listing office.

$7000-25% taxes=$5250

$5250-20% operating costs for the sub-contractor agent =$4200

Final net take home for your agent is $4200 out of the $10000 commission check.

Realtors can’t think about hourly wage or a monthly salary. We think in terms of pay per year and hope for the best.

$4200 x 12 months (if we are lucky) in a year=$50400 a year

Stats show most Realtors average $40,000 per year which means the average Realtor may get paid once every two months. A Realtor may get paid 4 times in one month than have to wait two or three more months for the next closing.

The job can pay very well if you are willing to give up week-ends, births, graduation, funerals, and vacation, just like any other career. The top selling agents that are able to have a personal life also employee several people to keep everything on track. The money helps keep the local economy running.

If you get nothing else from this post understand this: the majority of Realtors receive $0 pay until they close on properties. All services they give until closing are done for free.These services can take hours of computer and commuting time. We tour, preview, talk on the phone, learn the market, buy endless tanks of gas. We counsel, buy meals, and are a friend until the buyer or seller is ready to make the move.

Bottom line is the sales commission paid for services provided are not just for your Realtor service but for the many people they work for and employee to get the job done.

http://fruitandwine.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Logo1-Trans.png00Tammy Craighttp://fruitandwine.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Logo1-Trans.pngTammy Craig2015-03-12 17:18:302018-01-24 19:11:29Why does my Realtor make so much money?

Tammy Craig

Broker/Owner

Fruit and Wine Real Estate, Palisade CO 81526

To Remodel and Stay Put, or Not to Remodel and Move?

The answer is as unique as the home owner.

Are you already the nicest home in your area? If so you may want to put the home on the market and move if you have outgrown your home. You don’t want to spend more on your home than you can get for your area.

Out-pricing your area with updates is not usually the case with Palisade properties unless they’re located in a newer subdivision. You don’t want 3000 sq ft when the average for your subdivision is 1800 sq ft. Palisade is a desirable area and there is a need for updated/newer/new homes so if Palisade is where you want to be, any update is welcome and saleable.

Many of our brokerage’s buyers are looking for homes that don’t need repairs. We take calls all the time from Grand Junction agents looking for properties to sell their buyers in the Palisade area that have been updated.

In our current market in Palisade the inventory of all homes for sale — updated or not — is low. Now appears to be a good time to sell, no matter the condition.

Will I get my money back?

Statistics show you cannot expect a full return on the money you put into a home. Average yearly maintenance is typically approx. 3% of the purchase price per year, to keep the home in the condition in which you purchased it. Once the home is updated, the market either increases or decreases in an organic way based on demand. Your return from a remodel comes in your ability to outshine the competition when you decide to list. If you are in tip-top shape you can list at the top of the market and sell quickly. You may get a dollar-for-dollar return, especially in Palisade, but expect about 50% on average.

What are buyers looking for?

The largest buyer pool is the move-in ready market. These buyers love updated kitchens, pretty baths, new floors and paint; they like garages and storage and a home with good flow; they like appealing yards and a pleasant entry. For the best result when selling, finish the projects that you have started as any unfinished business in your home will be harshly assessed by the general public. It will be much cheaper for you to finish them in the long run.

In Palisade there are a lot of septic systems. Get it updated if the system is over 25 years old or if the grass is getting greener over the area.

If you own acreage get a survey beforehand so a new buyer can see where their property boundary is located.

When updating for resale always remember people buy with their eye. Consult designers for complementary colors, don’t go rogue. Also, as with clothing fashion, trendy is cool but classic style is forever. Think about wood floors, mouldings, earth tone colors, and comfortable spaces with good flow. Make additions that compliment the exterior of the home.

This brings me to the main goal, home satisfaction. Start with updates that suit you. If you plan to live in your home for 3 to 5 more years, make yourself comfortable. If you need an addition, build it. If you want new cabinets, put them in. If you love your home, so will others when the time comes to sell. Choose classic styles, update electrical and plumbing as needed, and enjoy your property.

When the time comes to sell and you are shopping for agents, remember, Independent Brokers like Fruit and Wine Real Estate sell the most properties. So call us…we’d love to help you!

Let it be known. Small offices sell lot’s of property. While large offices promote their selling expertise as a group of multiple agents, small offices working as Independent Brokers sell more. If you compare our agents individually with individual agents from any office working in the Palisade area it becomes clear. Fruit & Wine Real Estate agents sell the most property in Palisade. Small offices as a group sell the most property in Palisade. When buying or selling, think local, think great service,think independent real estate office, think Fruit & Wine Real Estate .